Back in the saddle
I took my bike in for a tune up recently and they gave me a new seat post... one that's almost to big for me. I tried it out at the transition practice and I don't think I was moving my hips so maybe it'll be ok. Tonight was the first time I got to try it and I think the extra height gave me a bit of an edge.
I was trying to not to push it to hard since my legs were still a little stiff from last night's run but there were people in front of me riding slowly up hills! Anyone who's ever ridden with me knows I can't let that go. So here I am at the bottom of that incline by Oak Bay golf course and I saw some guy 3/4 of the way up STANDING on his peddles! I started to wonder if I could make it to the top before he did. Only one way to find out... I clicked into a harder gear, dropped into aero and punched it. We tied and I was glad when I passed him that he didn't know how far back I was when we started "racing". I probably come off as a cocky bastard (and maybe I am) but I don't actually want to make people feel bad. I'm just always looking for a challenge that will make me dig deeper and go faster.
The best ride I've had this year was at the Shawnigan Sprint because I got to race a friend of mine who's got similar ability on the bike. He's faster going up hills, I'm faster going down. We passed each other a few times and I had to work really hard to earn my 30 second lead at the end. I should do more time trials.
Anyways, the focus for the evening was really to get a good spin to flush out my quads. All the same, I was loving attacking the hills. Coming back, I shot up King George in my 4th gear (3 up from easiest) and was pleased to see that my climbing is getting better. That's been a bit of an Achilles-heal for me so hopefully it won't hurt me too bad in the race on Sunday. I can't wait to get back to Shawnigan in the upcoming weeks... I miss riding up the Malahat!
All in all, I'm getting excited about the next few races. I've been really discouraged about the back pain on the bike and the leg pain on the run. It all seems to be coming together this week and I've got renewed enthusiasm about the 10 weeks I have left until Ironman.
It is only with the heart that one sees rightly;
what is essential is invisible to the eye.
~Antoine de Sainte-Exupery
I was trying to not to push it to hard since my legs were still a little stiff from last night's run but there were people in front of me riding slowly up hills! Anyone who's ever ridden with me knows I can't let that go. So here I am at the bottom of that incline by Oak Bay golf course and I saw some guy 3/4 of the way up STANDING on his peddles! I started to wonder if I could make it to the top before he did. Only one way to find out... I clicked into a harder gear, dropped into aero and punched it. We tied and I was glad when I passed him that he didn't know how far back I was when we started "racing". I probably come off as a cocky bastard (and maybe I am) but I don't actually want to make people feel bad. I'm just always looking for a challenge that will make me dig deeper and go faster.
The best ride I've had this year was at the Shawnigan Sprint because I got to race a friend of mine who's got similar ability on the bike. He's faster going up hills, I'm faster going down. We passed each other a few times and I had to work really hard to earn my 30 second lead at the end. I should do more time trials.
Anyways, the focus for the evening was really to get a good spin to flush out my quads. All the same, I was loving attacking the hills. Coming back, I shot up King George in my 4th gear (3 up from easiest) and was pleased to see that my climbing is getting better. That's been a bit of an Achilles-heal for me so hopefully it won't hurt me too bad in the race on Sunday. I can't wait to get back to Shawnigan in the upcoming weeks... I miss riding up the Malahat!
All in all, I'm getting excited about the next few races. I've been really discouraged about the back pain on the bike and the leg pain on the run. It all seems to be coming together this week and I've got renewed enthusiasm about the 10 weeks I have left until Ironman.
It is only with the heart that one sees rightly;
what is essential is invisible to the eye.
~Antoine de Sainte-Exupery
posted by Jonathan at 9:35 PM
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